EP0075121A1

EP0075121A1 - Device for tearing apart asunder flat products, in particular printed matter delivered in an imbricated arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0075121A1
Application number: EP82107703A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Walter Reist
Original assignee: Ferag AG
Current assignee: Ferag AG
Priority date: 1981-09-18
Filing date: 1982-08-23
Publication date: 1983-03-30
Also published as: CA1189101A1; US4534550A; EP0075121B1; CA1189101A; JPH0561183B2; DE3263544D1; CH652697A5; AT13278T; JPS5863651A

Abstract

Using a first belt conveyor (1), a scale formation (S), which is formed by packages (3), each consisting of two overlapping printed products (4, 5), is fed to a second belt conveyor (2). The conveying speed (v2) of this second belt conveyor (2) is twice as large as the conveying speed (v1) of the first belt conveyor (1). A delay device (6), which has an endless conveyor belt (7), is arranged above the second belt conveyor (2). The latter has a conveying speed (v1) which is half the conveying speed (v2) of the second belt conveyor (2). The conveyor belt (7) is perforated and runs through a vacuum chamber (15) connected to a vacuum pump (16). When a product package (3) runs past the vacuum chamber (15), the overhead product (4) is grasped in its exposed area (B) by the conveyor belt (7) and held there by vacuum. The detected printed product (4) is moved by the conveyor belt (7) at a speed (v1) that is half as large as the speed of movement of the underlying product (5). In this way, the overlapping printed products (4, 5) are pulled apart.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for pulling apart flat products produced in a shingled stream, in particular printed products, according to the preamble of claim 1.
Such a device is known from DE-OS 28 22 060 (and the corresponding US Pat. No. 4,201,286), in which the conveying device is formed by an endless conveying element which is provided with drivers at regular intervals. The drivers, the distance between which is greater than the mutual distance of the products in the incoming stream of shingles (scale distance), attack the trailing edges of the products. The drivers now pull the products apart within the scale formation, thereby making the distance between the scales even. The pulling apart of the products takes place in this device only by the amount necessary to achieve this uniformity. The device is therefore not intended to increase the distance between the products by a considerable amount, that is to say to double it, for example. To make sure A flawless detection of each incoming product by a driver must be synchronized between the feeder and the funding body, which requires a corresponding outlay on equipment.
As is known from EP-OS 0 013 920, printed products are often transported in packages of two products. However, if the products are to be processed individually after the transport, it is necessary to separate the products that overlap in each package so far that the products can be manipulated individually. However, the known device mentioned above is not suitable for this.
The present invention is based on the object of creating a device of the type mentioned at the outset which, with simple means, enables the products to be pulled apart by a considerable amount and which also allows an incoming stream of shingles which is formed by packets of products lying one above the other, to transform into a formation in which the products lie one on top of the other like tiles.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the features listed in the characterizing part of claim 1.
The fact that the delay device is arranged on that side of the scale formation on which the products are exposed in the region of their leading edge means that the delay device can act correctly on the products without difficulty guaranteed. Furthermore, it is possible to release the product influenced by the delay device by a subsequent product, so that complex control can be dispensed with. A precise synchronization between the feed conveyor and the conveyor device is also not absolutely necessary.
Since the products which are not or no longer influenced by the delay device are conveyed away at a speed which is higher by an amount corresponding to the enlargement of the scale distance than the feed speed of the products, the resulting stream of shingles supplied by the feed conveyor can be processed without jamming.
It is advantageous if, in the preferred embodiment according to claim 2, the conveyor belt is made air-permeable, for example through a perforation, and is guided over a vacuum chamber. In such a solution, the products running towards the vacuum chamber serve as a slide which briefly closes the vacuum chamber and thus enables the product previously detected by the delay device to be released.
The device according to the invention is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for converting a formation which is formed by packages lying one above the other in the form of scales, each consisting of at least two completely overlapping products, into a stream of shingles in which the products individually overlap one another like roof tiles .
An exemplary embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. In a side view and purely schematically:

1 shows a device for pulling apart printed products which occur in packages lying one above the other in the manner of scales, each of which is formed from two completely overlapping printed products,
2 to 4 the device according to FIG. 1 in successive times of its operation, and
5 and 6 the enlargement of the distance between the products within a scale formation by means of the device according to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a feed device 1, which is designed as a belt conveyor, is followed by a conveyor device 2, which is also designed as a belt conveyor. The belt conveyor 1 is ^g is not detailed e-set manner in the direction of arrow X at a speed v ₁ is driven. The other belt conveyor 2 is driven in a manner also not shown in the same direction indicated by the arrow Y, at a speed v ₂ that is twice the conveyor speed v _{1 of} the belt conveyor 1.
Through the belt conveyor 1 of the conveyor 2, a shingled stream S is fed through the roof tiles packets 3 stacked like one another is formed. Each package 3 is formed by two essentially completely overlapping printed products 3 and 4, the leading edge 4a and 5a of which is exposed. The spacing of the packets 3 within the scale formation S is denoted by A.
A delay device 6 is arranged above the conveyor device 2 and has an endless, perforated or otherwise air-permeable conveyor belt 7. This conveyor belt 7 is guided over guide rollers 8 and 9 and around a tension roller 10. The guide rollers 8 and 9 are mounted by means of a shaft 11 or 12 in a rocker 13 which is pivotable about the shaft 11. On the shaft 12 a pair of support rollers 14 is further arranged, of which only one roller is shown. The conveyor belt 7 is driven in a manner not shown in the direction of arrow Z, ie with the same direction of conveyance as the belt conveyor 2. The drive speed of the conveyor belt 7 is v ₁ , and is consequently equal to the conveying speed of the feed conveyor 1 and only half as large as the conveying speed v _{2 of} the belt conveyor 2.
Immediately adjacent to the movement path of the scale stream S and above it is a vacuum chamber 15, through which the conveyor belt 7 runs and which is connected to a vacuum pump 16, which is only shown schematically.
The mode of operation of the device according to FIG. 1 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.
At the point in time shown in FIG. 2, this stands at 4 " designated product of a package in contact with the conveyor belt 7. Due to the negative pressure prevailing in the negative pressure chamber 15 and acting through the perforated conveyor belt 7, this printed product 4 ″ is held on the conveyor belt 7 and is also somewhat lifted off from the pressure product 5 ″ below. The product 4 ″ captured by the conveyor belt 7 is moved by the latter at the speed v ₁ , while the printed product 5 ″ below it is moved at the speed v ₂ in the direction of the arrow Y. The product 5 "below is thus extracted from the product 4" lying on top.
The product 4 "is moved through the conveyor belt 7 until the products of the next package 3 ', designated 4' and 5 ', reach the effective area of the conveyor belt 7 and the vacuum chamber 15, as shown in FIG. 3. This pair of products 4 ', 5' now acts in the manner of a slide which closes the vacuum chamber 15 and thus releases the previously delayed printed product 4 "which is now moved further at the speed v ₂ . Now the overhead product 4 'of the subsequent product package 3' comes into contact with the conveyor belt 7, on which, as already explained, it is held by negative pressure and is also somewhat lifted off from the underlying product 5 '. The latter is moved on at the conveying speed v ₂ , while the upper printed product 4 'is carried along by the conveyor belt 7 at the speed v _I. In this way, the product 5 'is drawn out from the product 4' lying above it, so that the region B 'is now exposed at its leading edge 5a (FIG. 4). Behind the delay device 6, ie behind the vacuum chamber 15, a scale flow S 'is thus formed, in which the printed products 4 and 5 also lie on top of one another in the manner of roof tiles, which were located one above the other in the incoming scale stream S within a package 3. Since the conveying speed v _{2 of} the belt conveyor 2 is twice as high as the feeding speed v ₁ of the shingled stream S and the conveying speed of the conveyor belt 7, the shingled distance A 'in the shingled stream S' is approximately the same as the shingled distance A in the incoming shingled stream S. By appropriate choice the ratio between the speeds v ₁ and v ₂ , the ratio between the scale spacings A and A 'in the incoming and outgoing scale stream S or S' can be changed.
The device according to FIG. 1 can also be used in a manner other than that described. With this device, it is also possible to increase the scale spacing in a scale formation in which each product only partially overlaps the preceding product. Such a use of the device according to FIG. 1 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
If the scale formation S shown in FIG. 5 is fed at a speed v ₁ by the feed conveyor 1 to the conveying device 2 and is moved past the delay device 6 at a speed v ₂ , then all are in the manner described with reference to FIGS Printed products 17, 18, 19 and 20 are moved through the conveyor belt 7 at a speed v ₁ until the next product following them detaches the product previously held on the conveyor belt 7. If the speed v _{2 is} twice as high as the speed v _l , the scale spacing A ₂ in the removed scale becomes in this way stream S '(Fig. 6) twice as large as the scale spacing A ₁ in the incoming scale stream S (Fig. 5). By pulling the printed products 17, 18, 19 and 20 apart in this way, it is possible to even out a scale flow S with irregular scale distances. This will now be explained in the following.
As shown in FIG. 5, the distances between the leading edges 17a, 18a, 19a and 20a of the incoming print products 17, 18, 19 and 20 do not correspond to the target distance A ₁ . 5, the leading edges 17a, 18a, 19a and 20a would have to be in the positions represented by the lines denoted by I, II, III and IV. As shown in FIG. 5, however, the leading edge 18a of the printed product 18 is a distance a behind the desired position designated by II, while the leading edge 20a of the printed product 20 lies by the distance b before the desired position designated by IV.
In FIG. 6, the scale flow S ′ after the passage past the delay device 6 is shown in a corresponding representation in FIG. 5. The target positions of the leading edges 17a ', 18a', 19a 'and 20a' are correspondingly designated I ', II', III 'and IV'. The leading edge 18a 'is still behind the desired position designated II' by the same amount a, while the leading edge 20a ^l lies ahead of the desired position designated IV 'by the same amount b. After the shingled stream has been pulled apart, the deviation of the printed products 18 'and 20 ¹ from their nominal position is the same as for the incoming shingled stream S. However, since the shingled spacing A _{2 has been} increased, ie doubled, has increased the percentage deviation of the printed products 18 'and 20' from their target position is reduced accordingly, ie halved.
The device described now has the advantage that each product automatically takes care of the detachment of the preceding product from the conveyor belt 7. A special control for this is therefore not necessary.
It goes without saying that the described device can also be designed in different parts differently than as described. Of the various possible variants, only a few are referred to below.
Although the temporary adhesion of the products 4 in their exposed area B to the conveyor belt 7 can be accomplished in a particularly simple manner by means of negative pressure, it is of course possible to ensure that the printed products 4 are temporarily carried along by the conveyor belt 7 in another suitable manner.
Furthermore, it is conceivable to design the entire restraint device 6 differently than shown. For example, a retaining element can be provided which retains the upper product 4 of a product package 3 and prevents further movement together with the lower printed product 5. The release of the printed products by the retaining element can also be carried out by the subsequent pair of printed products 3. In addition, it is also possible to provide a control for this restraint element.
In the manner described, it is also possible to To process scale formation in which, unlike the scale formation shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, each printed product or each product package rests on the subsequent product or package in the manner of a roof tile. With such a shingled stream, however, the delay device 6 would have to be arranged below the shingled formation so that it can act on the area of the leading edge of the printed products.

Claims

1.Device for pulling flat products accumulating in a shingled stream, in particular printed products, with a feed conveyor for the products and a downstream conveying device, the conveying speed of which is greater than that of the feed conveyor, characterized in that in the region of the conveying device (2) and on on the side of the products (4, 5) on which the leading edge (4a, 5a) of the products (4, 5) is exposed, a delay device (6) acting on the passing products (4, 5) is arranged, which prevents the forward movement inhibits the products (4) influenced by it until a subsequent product (4) reaches the effective range of the delay device (6).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the delay device (6) has at least one revolving driven conveyor belt (7) with the same conveying direction (Z) as the conveying device (2), which has a conveying speed (v _l ) which is lower than that of the conveyor (2) and with which the products (4, 5) can be brought into contact with their exposed area (B).

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the conveyor belt (7) has substantially the same conveying speed (v _l ) as the feed conveyor (2).

4. The device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the air-permeable, in particular perforated conveyor belt (7) is guided via a vacuum chamber (15).

5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the conveyor belt (7) is guided in a rocker (13) which is pivotally mounted and is supported on the scale formation (S ').

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the delay device (6) is arranged above the conveyor device (2) which is preferably designed as a belt conveyor.

7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6 for pulling products (4, 5) apart, which are obtained in packages (3) which lie on one another in the form of scales and which are each formed from at least two completely overlapping products (4, 5).